Cargo bike take 2

Four years ago we bought a cargo trike.  I wanted to be able to carry all our kids and gear on a bike.  While that bike was impressive in its ability to carry stuff it was like biking around a semi-trailer with half the agility.  It was heavy, slow and cumbersome.  We sold it at a loss, barely used.

A year later we visited Saskatoon and tried Liz's awesome long-tail cargo bike.  I loved it.  It was SO much more agile and when you weren't carrying kids or cargo it felt like biking a normal bike.  But it was really expensive and I had already burned my cargo bike budget on the cargo trike.  So we settled for a combination of a tow bike and bike trailer.  Cumbersome, but it worked.

This year Darwyn was just too big for the bike trailer.  She and Max are old enough to ride on their own if the trip is close, but they can't ride on any busy roads or longer distances.  I still had my eye on that long tail.  And lucky me, a beautiful long tail cargo bike came up on kijiji for a steal and with electric assist.  I wasn't sure how I felt about electric assist, but I couldn't turn down the price tag so we are once again cargo bike owners!

It turns out I love e-assist.  I often don't use it, but when I need it, it is a life saver.  I take the bike on many more trips because it increases my range and my speed.  Ada is even more infatuated than I am.  She loves the bike and begs us to take her on joy rides.  Once on, she begs you to turn on e-assist to the max and go at top speed (a little over 30km an hour).  She is a total adrenaline junky!  She will come along on any trip where we get to take the cargo bike and has come with me to get groceries, and tow a different bike to the bike shop for a tune up.  The long tail is stable, easy and versatile.  I love it and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to bike around lots of kids and stuff.  Check out some of the cool stuff we've done with it!

Gus and Ada test riding the bike right after we bought it.

I built my own version of a hooptie to provide handle bars for the kids.
This is a prototype made from PVC.  The final version will be made from electrical conduit.
I also sewed washable seat pads.

Towing a regular bike to the bike shop
(No Ada is not dragging the bike.  She just likes to have her hand there.)

First load of groceries + Ada

Full market load, including a half bushel of beans and a half bushel of nectarines

All 3 kids on the bike.  Please ignore the theatrics.